TEO Newsletter March 2006

Dear friends,

the weather in Nongkhai is hot and we had some rain lately. We spend the last weeks at the boys orphanage, were we set up our holiday camp playing and teaching English. A real challenge for our volunteers as the boys seem not to be affected by the heat, while we return every day completely exausted.

We have a new photo album online with pictures from the ordination of some of our students.

Festivals and celebrations are an essential part of Thai life. We had the chance to visit a funeral, see students becoming monks on two occasions, the inauguration of a shrine at the new home for abused boys and the inauguration of a new temple in Nong Song Hong. All these celebrations were a welcome change to our normal work and a great chance for our volunteers to learn more about the Thai way of life.

MaamHathairat Wongsutthawat, or Maam, has left Thai-Experience to prepare for her move to Portugal, where she will start studying Portugese and tourism. We will all miss her and great work.

We also had to say good-bye to Alain, who returned home to France after volunteering in the Rehabilation Center for Disabled People in Nong Song Hong and two schools in NongkhaiAlain for one year teaching computers and English. He left with several big bags full of presents from all his friends after nearly two weeks of good-bye parties. He just sent an email to let you all know that he arrived safely at home. We wish them both a good start in Europe and hope that one day we will have a chance to meet again.

Happy Songkran,
Your TEO-Team

Our Nongkhai Experience

by Claire and Pete Noor, Spain

We visited Nongkhai in January 2006 and spent some time at Guamwan school with Sujin, the English teacher, and his pupils.

Each morning we would travel to school on our moped, along with many other people on their way to work. We would always exchange a smiling wai and a wave to some of them while waiting at the traffic lights.

The children at the school were truly delightful, all very polite, keen to learn and laughed easily. They have a wide English vocabulary but few opportunities to listen to or speak English out loud which is where we were able to add benefit. I think it's fair to say a lot of fun was had by all.

We were lucky enough to be there while regional school competitions were on and saw lots of singing, dancing, cooking, art and flower arranging. All the children were very talented in their chosen subject.

Choosing to spend some time at the school in Nongkhai and with Sabine and the team was very rewarding. They really are a genuinely nice group of people and we felt fortunate to have meet and spent some time with them. Doing the voluntary work was a fabulous way to gain an experience of Thailand and it's wonderful people and we would recommend it without any hesitation.

We have without doubt left a little of ourselves in Nongkhai and hope to return and leave a little more in the future.

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Guanwan students join temple

shaving the headIn March 12 students of Guanwan Highschool decided to start their holidays with some time spend in the village temple. We joined the two days event in Baan Prao to watch normal boys change into novices (junior monks).

You might have seen pictures of Thai monks. They all have very short or no hair. The first step for a boy or man to take is the shaving of his head. Not only the hair, but eyebrows too. Most Thais do not have as much facial hair as Westeners, but it would have to go as well. This changes the appearance of a person noticeably. Read the whole article or see photos of the ordination.

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High tech in Thai temples

When someone dies, the family organizes religious ceremonies for several days. They can last any uneven number of days, depending on the financial ability and respect to the deceased one wants to express. The body usually is prepared with formalin and kept in a coffin to slow down the decomposition process. Modern technique allows for a more sophisticated method: The coffin is placed in a container with build-in cooling system. These coolers are expensive and not available everywhere. Only some temples have them, but it is exspected that they will in the long run replace the formalin treatment.

While traditional funerals are held on the temple ground out in an open space, some temples have modern ovens that are operated with gas and equipped with filters. Attached is a monitor to watch the process in the oven. With regards to the relatives this is turned off as long as they are present. See photos

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Upcoming Thai Festivals and Holidays

  • 13 April 2006 Therevadin Buddhist New Year
  • 13 - 17 April 2006 Songkran Festival
    Thais celebrate the lunar new year with a lot of water. Buddha statues are cleaned, you sprinkle water over the hands of monks and elders to show your respect - and everybody is having a lot of fun with tossing water around. If you attend don't expect to stay dry. See some photos of the festival
  • 1 May (fix) National Labour Day
  • 5 May (fix) Coronation Day
    King Bhumibol Adulyadej was crowned on 5 May 1950.

Overview of all Thai festivals and holidays
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